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A collection of things software developers should know

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Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#121

Post by ImSkeptical »

ATsch wrote: post #31
oldandtired wrote: post #26

This is what every programmer should know: 1. Life is too short, so get a life. 2. Know that you don't know everything, so get don't arrogant. 3. Don't get caught up in the various programming "religious" wars, there's more to life than a specific point of view. 4. Laugh and enjoy the the wonderful beauty in the world around us. 5. You're as much the idiot as the person you consider an idiot. 6. Sometimes the "import…

I find that saying the phrase "get a life" to people that enjoy what they are doing is extremely condescending. If I enjoy programming all day, or having huge flame wars, or maintaining a huge collection of antique watering cans sorted by volume, then who are you to judge me for that?

But don't you really have a secret unfulfilled desire to sit in a dimly lit, extremely noisy, crowded bar, sipping overpriced alcohol while yelling platitudes at people you kind of know?

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#123

Post by endorphone »

oldandtired wrote: post #26

This is what every programmer should know: 1. Life is too short, so get a life. 2. Know that you don't know everything, so get don't arrogant. 3. Don't get caught up in the various programming "religious" wars, there's more to life than a specific point of view. 4. Laugh and enjoy the the wonderful beauty in the world around us. 5. You're as much the idiot as the person you consider an idiot. 6. Sometimes the "import…

Getting to the source of #3, another piece of advice is to never define yourself, or your ego, by the things you use.

You might program in C on Linux. You might game on an xbox. You might have tried Rust or Go and think they're pretty groovy. You might have an iphone.

None of these are a part of your ego. They aren't a part of your image. You don't need to feel attacked if someone criticizes, rightly or wrongly, your choices.

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#124

Post by scardine »

ATsch wrote: post #31
oldandtired wrote: post #26

This is what every programmer should know: 1. Life is too short, so get a life. 2. Know that you don't know everything, so get don't arrogant. 3. Don't get caught up in the various programming "religious" wars, there's more to life than a specific point of view. 4. Laugh and enjoy the the wonderful beauty in the world around us. 5. You're as much the idiot as the person you consider an idiot. 6. Sometimes the "import…

I find that saying the phrase "get a life" to people that enjoy what they are doing is extremely condescending. If I enjoy programming all day, or having huge flame wars, or maintaining a huge collection of antique watering cans sorted by volume, then who are you to judge me for that?

"Being right" gives you a high - that is why flame wars can be so addictive. Like cocaine it may give you instant gratification and pleasure but in the end it is not worth.

Despite the unfortunate redaction, I guess the parent is telling that if you find yourself chasing this kind of highs very often, you probably are basing your life on shitty values like "being right all the time".

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#125

Post by iainmerrick »

So the "things" here are links to various articles and essays. Some of them I recognize and there are definitely some good ones in there (like Fred Brooks' "No Silver Bullet").

This kind of list would be much more useful with more careful curation. Rather than just giving me 100 links in broad categories, write a sentence or two about why each article is worth reading. Maybe pick 10 or 20 articles to showcase, rather than 50 or 100.

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#126

Post by Can_Not »

barryhoodlum wrote: post #112
brudgers wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, the specific phrase 'get a life' carries the connotation of contempt for the persons to which it is offered as advice (typically unsolicited). In normal use, it is an insult that dismisses everything about a person. It isn't just used against nerds, it is also aimed at people who are doing some menial job or at a person who is complaining about some bad behavior imposed upon them by someone who tends to ge…

He obviously touched a nerve. Maybe you should think about why rather than continue with this ridiculous overreaction?

That was an explanation, not a reaction.

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#127

Post by extra88 »

brudgers wrote: post #80
ritchiea wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I'm reading HN I assume the commenters are at least somewhat similar to myself until I have evidence to think otherwise. The culture here is neither anti-intellectual nor anti-math. Given that we're on HN I'd say it's safe to assume no one is telling you to quit coding or stop caring about math. On this forum issues around workaholism and burn out come up all the time, "getting a life" is a step toward not burni…

In the US, the specific phrase 'get a life' carries the connotation of contempt for the persons to which it is offered as advice (typically unsolicited). In normal use, it is an insult that dismisses everything about a person. It isn't just used against nerds, it is also aimed at people who are doing some menial job or at a person who is complaining about some bad behavior imposed upon them by someone who tends to ge…

Yes, the particular phase "get a life!" was used against nerds, Trekkies, by William Shatner in a Saturday Night Live sketch [0]. It wasn't a new gag, but it raised the fandom's profile into the mainstream and it's often been repeated (e.g. on The Simpsons in Comic Book Guy and his cohort).

I assume the phrase was used here in the most generous sense but that's often not how it will be received. I think it's more constructive to avoid the phrase and to express the sentiment in other ways.

[0] http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86hgetalife.phtml

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#128

Post by lend000 »

wruza wrote: post #67
kraftman wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not OP but I took it as 'get a life [outside of work]', i.e. don't get bogged down in the crazy 100-hour work weeks and stressing about climbing corporate ladders if it's not what you enjoy. What you do with your free time is up to you, it's just a reminder that it's your free time not your companies.

Your quoting style is simply depressing.

It's the preferred method in Python.

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#129

Post by fish_fan »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #96
ATsch wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this is how it was meant, perhaps a different phrase would have conveyed OPs opinion better. For me, "get a life" is strongly associated with "douchey jock" behaviour, bullying, nerd-shaming (is that word a thing? it is now) and phrases like "you like math? what a nerd, get a girlfriend bro", things I'm sure many people on HN have had to deal with.

As a person who lived through this as a kid, I want to express my strong support for your comment, and provide +1 data point. IT going mainstream made life a bit easier for us - if you say you're a programmer, people no longer roll their eyes. But that's not because geeky/nerdy lifestyle is more accepted now. It isn't. If I say to my cow-orkers that I code a lot after work, most will be looking at me like a weirdo ju…

I mostly disagree—it's quite common to have intellectual interest in technology. It simply requires a lot of sacrifice in terms of social life to fit in with your career.

Also, assuming positive intent will get you far in life, especially on forums like this.

Re: A collection of things software developers should know

#130

Post by [deleted] »

ATsch wrote: post #31
oldandtired wrote: post #26

This is what every programmer should know: 1. Life is too short, so get a life. 2. Know that you don't know everything, so get don't arrogant. 3. Don't get caught up in the various programming "religious" wars, there's more to life than a specific point of view. 4. Laugh and enjoy the the wonderful beauty in the world around us. 5. You're as much the idiot as the person you consider an idiot. 6. Sometimes the "import…

I find that saying the phrase "get a life" to people that enjoy what they are doing is extremely condescending. If I enjoy programming all day, or having huge flame wars, or maintaining a huge collection of antique watering cans sorted by volume, then who are you to judge me for that?

[deleted]
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